


Hey, Sheev

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: Hey, kids (3/4th Human) [4]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Dead kids, Emperor Hux and his Knight, Everything goes to Hell!, Hux makes his son have an existential crisis, Instead of sad!Leia in this we get sad!Hux, M/M, Non-Graphic Descriptions of Gore, Unintentional mild child abuse, grieving and crying, injuries, phantom pains, self-amputation, the inevitability of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 00:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7955068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Why won't Bail wake up-</i>
</p><p>A soldier begins to question everything, and the loyalty of the Emperor's flawless army falls apart. The past is almost ready to be revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey, Sheev

**Author's Note:**

> 'Oblio what the fuck happened to the tags' WELL KIDS ITS A WILD RIDE YOURE GETTING ON HERE ON Hey, kids (3/4th Human) ! :^)  
> Everything is going to shit and we Finally get to see Hux and Kylo like we were supposed to last part but didn't. Finally we meet Sheev, the child who is the first to experience the fall out.  
> Yes, Kylo named his son after the old Emperor, and YES he did name his other son Matt, Hux regrets not remembering to veto it 16 years ago. Kylo isn't very creative with names lmao  
> And before u ask 'why didn't Matt's ghost show up at Leia's??' NO I did not forget there's an actual reason u might be able to figure out but if not that's okay all will be revealed in time  
> Sheev's reactions are based loosely off of myself (his words not actions lmao)

**Hey, Sheev**

A child stumbled into the throne room, dragging a corpse, its arm pulled over their shoulders. An incoherent babbling fell from the crying child's lips, pleas for a medic, for help, why aren't their powers working? What happened to the corpse's life force? Everything hurts. _Why won't Bail wake up-_

The corpse's face was pointed downwards, and the Enforcer, upon looking at the carnage of it later, the sheer lack of anything but gore where there was once a smiling face, bright brown eyes, was grateful. The Emperor rushed to the child as blood and nonsense spilled from their lips, and the corpse of a happy boy who once witnessed murder fell to the floor. Shortly, the child dropped dead, and the Enforcer covered the Emperor's mouth before he could scream, tears already falling from his eyes.

A double funeral, the corpse and child joined their sister in the palace tomb. A white mask over the corpse's face to spare the Emperor, their arms placed over their chests, names and numbers displayed.

The Emperor shut down again.

"No more- no more, _please_ , Ren-"

"I know."

-

Everything felt _off_. Sheev found it hard to meditate. His arm was aching, even though it was supposed to be almost healed by now. It had broken on his first mission, and it'd been weeks since then. The numbers were all off, like a hole in the back of his head that he couldn't fill. His arm hurt. Meditating was too difficult. He hadn't been able to train in weeks. The number was supposed to end in zero, not a seven. In his parents' bedroom the Emperor was upset, his emotions leaking out for a few of them to see. That number was supposed to end in zero as well, not a nine.

Sheev didn't even realize he was crying until wet spots appeared where he was staring at his cast.

He wasn't _supposed_ to be crying. The Enforcer had said twice now that those missing three were one with the force, flowing through all of them, so why was he crying? Meditating, he was supposed to be _meditating_ -

"Hey, Sheev." Startling, the boy looked up. There was the Knight. Clearly he did not practice what he preached, brown eyes rimmed with red. He was supposed to be reassuring to all of them, but now he just looked pale and exhausted.

His arm ached, and Sheev wondered if it was somehow a phantom pain. He hadn't lost the arm, clearly, but everything had been so strange lately, numbers all off, that maybe his body had forgotten he still had all four limbs.

"You're supposed to be in the training room. We're practicing levitation today, so you can join in."

"Oh, r-right." He stood up and went to the Knight's side. 

Giving him a sad look, his father reached up and wiped his face with a gloved thumb, a slow and gentle action. "Don't be upset, they're a part of the force now."

Sheev followed the touch as his father went to pull away. "Aren't you upset, though, too? Father as well. I can feel him constantly."

"It's-" He sighed. "It's very difficult for the Emperor to accept that your brothers and sister aren't coming back. He's always going to be sad about it, but in time, he'll feel better."

"What about you?"

"I'm using my grief to fuel my power. You wouldn't understand."

His arm hurt horribly, the numbers were **_wrong_**. Sheev burst, "Of course I don't understand! You've never explained to us what happened to them! I don't get it, why can't I sense them anymore?! You refuse to tell us! We want to understand! Why is everything different?!"

No answer. Sheev waited, hand by his side trembling. Blue eyes stared intently at darkening brown ones that refused to meet their gaze. Everything felt off and Sheev wanted it to go back to normal again. If only those horrible fighters hadn't shot Ani, then everyone would be happy. If only Bail and Matt hadn't been ambushed. If-

If only they knew that not waking up was a possibility, and were taught how to prevent it.

"Tell me what happened to them."

"It's been a long week, just-"

"You're keeping something from us, something important." There, that was the answer. "You've been lying to us. What do you and father have to hide? Don't you love us?"

"There are many things we haven't told you. It's for your own good, because we want the best for you."

Something was on the verge of breaking, and Sheev was so close to figuring out what. All he needed to do was add that final bit of pressure, and avoid the fallout. "Clearly not. We're disappearing, even with your secrets!"

Sheev instantly regretted the words when his father reacted, the crack of that unknown something not quite opening just yet. Anger overtook the man's features, and for the first time in his life, Sheev was afraid of his father. His face fell as his father loomed over him, taking a step closer. Frozen in fear, the boy was helpless as he was grabbed by the collar and shoved against the doorway, head banging harshly against the metal.

"You have _no idea_ what you're talking about. You don't know _what I've done_ to build this empire." Finally, Kylo noticed the fresh tears streaming down his son's terrified face. His eyes, the same color as Hux's, were wide. He let go quickly. Sheev was shaking, and before Kylo could apologize, the boy gave a choked sob and ran.

-

Safety, he needed to find somewhere safe to hide, until his father wasn't mad at him anymore. Until he wasn't scared.

He'd never feared his father before, and the feeling was terrible. Everything suddenly felt twice as wrong, closed in, sharp. He- he was supposed to be able to trust his parents unconditionally. Not be afraid! His father had hurt him, turned his anger on him. He'd never done that to any of them before. If only he had kept his mouth shut and went to training. Then he wouldn't be scared.

There was only one place, one person, rather, that he could think of to protect him. The Emperor had angered his Knight countless times, but always remained unharmed. Staying with him, Sheev decided, would be his best bet. Since the Emperor was the parent who got more upset if anything happened to them, that had to mean he cared about them more.

So he ran towards where he sensed his life force, following the steady flow of grief that was leaking from him. He made it to the master bedroom and slipped inside.

"What- oh, what is it?" Sheev took a shaky breath at the closed door and turned towards Hux, sitting on the edge of the bed. He bit his lip to keep from making any noise. "What's wrong?" Sheev took that as his permission to come closer and darted to him. All of the sudden Hux had an arm wrapping around him, and a trembling body trying to hide against him.

"D-Dad...!"

Hux looked at the bracelet on the boy's wrist to see which child it was. "Sheev, what happened?" He feared the worst, but tried to convince himself otherwise. There couldn't have been another death, not so soon. 

There was light pressure at his head, and then an image of Kylo was in his mind, up close and livid, teeth bared, but blurred. Sheev buried his face in his neck, sobbing. It was a face Hux was used to seeing directed at stormtroopers or officers, enemies or prisoners being interrogated, before being choked or slashed through. He carded a hand through the boy's short dark russet hair, pausing when his hand touched something warm and wet. Pulling his hand away, he could see a smear of blood.

"Did Ren _hurt you_?" Sheev whimpered and another pressure appeared. Then, a scene, soundless. Kylo stepping forward, arms darting up, and suddenly being shoved back, a shock of pain, and an overwhelming feeling of fear.

Hux put his arms around the boy. "I'm going to call a medic to look at your head, and I'm going to make sure Ren doesn't come near you, alright? I won't let him hurt you again."

-

A medical droid put some bacta on the back of Sheev's head and announced that he was perfectly fine, and lucky he didn't have a fracture. Sheev had calmed down considerably, just sniffling and shaking slightly. Hux rubbed a soothing circle between his shoulder blades, letting him curl up in his lap. Kylo used to do the same whenever he was upset, and it was interesting to see the behavior in the children, who had never witnessed such a thing. Or maybe that was just something normal people did, and Hux had no idea.

Hux wasn't sure how much time had passed before Sheev was silent. More time, and then the boy softly asked, "What happened to Ani, Bail, and Matt? Why won't they wake up?"

"They died."

"I don't know what that means. The Enforcer got mad at me for asking."

"It means they aren't alive anymore. Their bodies stopped working, and their minds disappeared forever into the force. They can't come back, and eventually their bodies will rot away into bone. Though their bodies are still intact, they're no longer 'them'." Hux wasn't sure if he was explaining it properly. "Look at my thoughts, it'll help."

A pause. "How... How can you stop it?"

"You can't. Everyone dies, eventually. I will, Ren will, even all of you. Everyone 'living' has to die."

"Why-" Sheev pushed himself up. "Why didn't you tell us about this? Why wouldn't you tell us something so important?" He was pale. "What else haven't you told us?"

An army with doubts was a flawed army.

It only took one soldier with questions to destroy the whole army, everything.

"Ren and I have done many things in order to create this empire, to ensure your safety."

"Three of us have died." One soldier. "We aren't safe." The whole army.

"We've done horrible things to this galaxy. Horrible but necessary things. Without our crimes, we wouldn't have been able to keep so many of you alive for this long."

"But-" Sheev's breathing grew ragged. "It doesn't matter does it?" His voice pitched. "We're all going to die anyways! Sooner or later, everything will be gone! Ani, Bail, Matt, they're gone! Everyone else- they'll all die too, so why bother?!"

Their loyal, flawless army.

A promise to Ren, now broken.

"I don't- I don't want to- everything is- how could you?" Sheev crossed his arm. "Why- why, why tell me now? You- you've barely scratched the surface, I don't-" He looked sick. "I- my arm hurts, it hurts- it hurts, it hurts, it should be healed by now, right? It feels like it broke again, but it hasn't, I don't understand. How could you keep something like that from us? I'm supposed to trust you, but- It _hurts_ , I don't know why."

Sheev ran again, a soldier to destroy the rest.

Later, a comm from the medbay. Sheev had gotten his sister to cut off his arm with a knife stolen from the kitchens, two brothers to hold him down while she used the blunt knife like an saw while he screamed, begging for a phantom pain to go away, something about numbers.

Kylo came in the evening to say no matter where he went, the kids refused to look at him, fear steady throughout the palace, spiking as they turned their gazes away. No one showed up for training, blocked him out from their thoughts.

With that, the army was broken, a disaster waiting to happen. An expiration date on their Empire, everything they had worked so hard to build.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow and talk to me on tumblr: oblioknowlton.tumblr.com


End file.
